Friday, January 1, 2016

London Tides

London Tides: A Novel 

The MacDonald Family Trilogy

Paperback, ebook

June 1, 2015

by Carla Laureano

  • Paperback: 340 pages
  • Publisher: David C. Cook
  • ISBN-13: 978-1434708229

Irish photojournalist Grace Brennan travels the world’s war zones documenting the helpless and forgotten. After the death of her friend and colleague, Grace is shaken.

She returns to London hoping to rekindle the spark with the only man she ever loved—Scottish businessman Ian MacDonald. But he gave up his championship rowing career and dreams of Olympic gold years ago for Grace ... only for her to choose career over him. Will life’s tides bring them back together ... or tear them apart for good this time?

My thoughts: LONDON TIDES is a book that I was interested in reading after I first read an interview by Ms. Laureano.  The story itself is very well written, though I can't really say it drew me in. It was slow and easy to put down, but it also stayed with you, making you want to know more about these complex characters and how they would end up resolving their differences. 

For the more conservative reader, there are some words that could be considered bad, the characters drink, and the heroine sports many tattoos. I also didn't notice much of a faith message. 

The setting is, of course, a draw, as it is London, complete with sailing clubs, the flavor of many different nationalities, street vendors, not to mention the cover sports "Big Ben." 

I have never read any of Ms. Laureano's books before, and while the writing was very good, it didn't engage me. I wouldn't look up more of her books, but I also wouldn't turn one away that crossed my path. I like the international, contemporary romance, the well-developed complex characters and the research the author put into it.  4 stars. 

About the Author

Carla Laureano is the author of the RITA® award-winning romance Five Days in Skye as well as the Celtic fantasy series The Song of Seare (as C. E. Laureano). A graduate of Pepperdine University, she worked as a sales and marketing executive for nearly a decade before leaving corporate life behind to write fiction full-time. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two sons.

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